Sri Lanka takes steps to legalise e-Transactions

Sri Lankan parliamentarians have
unanimously passed a new law that
strengthens the legal validity of electronic
transactions thus paving the way for safer
e-Commerce in the country. In bringing
the law to parliament, the ICT Agency –
a state agency established to promote the
use of information and communications
technology in Sri Lanka, played a
prominent role.
Jayantha Fernando, legal advisor of the
ICT Agency of Sri Lanka, said, “While we
initiate efforts to focus on technological
developments, the importance of ensuring
parallel developments in the Legal
framework is essential. Electronic
commerce has considerable potential for
developing countries, but the positive
impact expected from it would be
reduced if users were confronted with
doubts as to the legal value of electronic
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commercial transactions after conducting
costly modernisation of communication
systems,” and added, “The law would
provide a firm foundation for e-commerce
transactions and give formal recognition
to e-mail communications. It also gives
recognition to electronic signatures, and
provides a structure to be established for
rules to be laid down in the future.”
It may be noted that entrepreneurs had
so far been refraining from high value
business to business transactions due to
uncertainty surrounding e-Transactions,
which resulted in the slow growth of e-
Government activities. “Most countries
including India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Korea
and Singapore have introduced e-
Transaction legislation to recognise this
activity based on the United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL) Model Law on e-Commerce
of 1996 and the Model Law on e-
Signatures (2001),” Fernando pointed out.